“Fast food chains and food manufacturers must shoulder some of the blame for the country's weight problem (Goode, 426).” All across America, people are surrounded by television commercials and advertisements for the tastiest, cheapest, and unhealthy food they can find. With so many people targeted by these ads, obesity rates are on the rise. With the increase in food portions, such as large burgers, large fries, and large drinks, it's no surprise that people's sizes are also increasing. It is also no surprise that people give in to fast food, because with low prices and advantageous offers no one can give up a cheap meal. In today's modern society, fast food chains and manufacturers use women for advertising to increase sales and profits. From the 1980s to today, food chains have used women to sexualize food in a certain way. Many times fast food chains use these women with model looks and bodies, to portray their typical customers, attracting a different audience. Another factor that affects these consumers is the availability of food. Across America, cities are filled with an array of fast-food restaurants, making them available anytime, anywhere. Not only does the availability of food affect people, but also the number of food choices. With a variety of food choices, people seem to eat more. Using women to sexualize food is not only demeaning to women, but also encourages many to eat more fast food and creates unrealistic ideas in the consumer's mind. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Either way, portion sizes of food like burgers and drinks are leading people to eat more. In an article titled “The Gorge-Yourself Environment” Erica Goode states, “The fast food industry has used portion sizes and value marketing as very effective tools to try to increase sales and profits.” Fast food not only increases in size but also in calories. According to "Fast food Nation (Around the world)" by Bernadette Keefe Md, the author compares fast food today and what it was like 20 years ago. "A hamburger 20 years ago had only 333 calories, compared to today which has 590 calories, an increase of 257 calories." Today's small, medium and large sizes were medium, large and extra large twenty years ago. In a Carl's Jr commercial featuring Paris Hilton, a TV character in a black bathing suit eats a large Carl's Jr cheeseburger. Carl's Jr. used this commercial to drive home how everyone "looks" while eating their burger. Additionally, the ad reads, “He'll tell you that size doesn't matter. He's lying” (Carl's Jr.) This ad really captures the audience as it shows half-naked women taking a seductive bite of their product. The food in this ad is shown as a sexual object, trying to attract the attention of both audiences (male and female): men because they see this sexy girl in a bikini trying the Carl's Jr burger and women because they see this famous celebrity eating it hamburger that it creates unrealistic ideas in their minds. Fast food chains offer people more food at low prices, which is leading to obesity in America. With portion sizes increasing every year, it is also the prices that drive consumers to eat more. Fast food may not cost much, but with so many customers it makes good sales and profits. Fast food chains often use the cheapest menu items to attract moreclients. For example, McDonald's “Dollar Menu” and Taco Bell's “Why Pay More Menu” offer cheap prices so people can buy more in quantity. With cheap deals like these, costing only a dollar or so, customers usually end up getting more. Additionally, in some fast-food restaurants customers have the option to swap menu items. For example, a drink for a milkshake or chicken nuggets for chicken nuggets, and they always cost customers more. In “How Fast Food Chains Use the Value Menu to Make You Spend More” by Candice Choi, the author states: “For restaurants, profit margins for value menu items are often slim. But they make money by selling the items in huge volumes.” To sell more, fast food chains try to attract large crowds such as families and group of friends with advertisements featuring women. In many of these fast food advertisements, women always wear cheap clothes, such as bikinis, which symbolize the low prices that fast food chains have to offer. In an article titled “Gorge-Yourself Environment” by Erica Goode, she states “The relative cost of different products has an even more powerful effect on food choices than nutrition labeling.” Many times people overlook the nutritional values of foods at low prices, which is leading to obesity in America. Additionally, fast food chains and food manufacturers use women to advertise and sell their products. They use women to sexualize food and attract an audience. “Bigger, cheaper and more varied meals, heavily advertised and widely available, can lead people to eat more than they need.” (Goode, 428) The way fast food chains advertise their food is a huge factor in how much food people consume on a daily basis. Some advertisements use the text "Use both hands", "Soft buns" or "Fresh buns", which refers to women's body parts. In a Carl's Jr. ad, a woman is depicted with her mouth wide open to advertise a long sandwich right in front of her, with the words "It just tastes better" and "It will blow your mind" in the ad, referencing that to oral sex. According to “5 Ways Fast Food Ads Promote Unrealistic Body Expectations for Women,” Julie Rub says, “It has been scientifically proven that junk food creates chemical responses in our brains, which cause us to become addicted to food. We crave the Big Mac, which is paired with thin, attractive women on screens (i.e. using sex appeal to sell a burger. This blatant contradiction is promoting thin women at the expense of reason and medical knowledge about what fast food can really do). do to yours body.” Portraying women in this way on a daily basis makes it seem like it may actually be appropriate and normal. However, sexually objectifying women is absolutely not appropriate nor normal. Since fast food advertising is everywhere, it has a great influence on everyone genders and ages. Many women have the idea that they should act and look a certain way and many men develop an idealism about how women should look. In a Carl's Jr ad, they used Miss Turkey, a beauty pageant to attract women to try the turkey burger, making it seem like a healthy option to customers. With fast-food restaurants available 24 hours a day or a variety of restaurants within a block alone, it has a big influence on how much people eat. In a study “Neighborhood Fast Food Availability and Fast Food Consumption” by Ole N, Barnes TL, Blake CE and Bell BA, it is stated: “It has been theorized that people living in areas rich in unhealthy fast food options.
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